Pathfinder Fate Accelerated

Though nominally rooted on Pathfinder, this material works for D&D flavored
Fate Accelerated in general.

Hey there! This document and the linked content provides a complete conversion (aka,
a "hack") translating concepts from the Pathfinder RPG by paizo games into the terms
of Fate Accelerated Edition (FAE) by EvilHat games to allow Pathfinder material
to be leveraged in a Fate Accelerated pick up game or campaign.

The main advantage to "borrowing" Pathfinder material for use in a Fate Accelerated
game is that it allows a GM to easily take advantage of the many high quality professional
resources published by Paizo such as maps, pawns, and artwork, but using a much
lighter weight story based game engine with dynamic resolutions. Additionally, players
that like Pathfinder that might not otherwise be interested in trying Fate Accelerated
can be enticed to give Pathfinder FAE a shot and thus become introduced to the game.

We've had a lot of fun running a variety of games in this way, both using published
adventures as well as homebrewed scenarios based in Golarion. We hope that others
might find similar fun for themselves reusing the material.

Two-column Fate Accelerated

Standard Fate Accelerated using Approaches plus a separate set of six
Archetypes
which help justify skilled actions and also add their bonus to 4dF rolls when relevant.

Pathfinder Links

Pathfinder by Paizo Games

Online System Reference Document

A Comprehensive Third Party SRD

Character Creation

Note: you can just pick or modify a premade
Iconic
character if you prefer to skip character creation.

This document will guide you through the process of creating a Pathfinder Fate Accelerated
character.

If you are already familiar with Fate Accelerated, you should find this to be a
straightforward process as Pathfinder Fate Accelerated characters are basically
the same as normal Fate Accelerated characters, with the added idea of "Archetypes"
which are explained in detail, and a Race Aspect. Also, a magic system and guidance
on gear and magic items are provided.

If you are not already familiar with Fate Accelerated, don't worry. You'll be walked
through the process step by step; just grab a sheet of paper and a pencil and follow
along.

Character Concept

You should start off with some idea of what kind of character you want to make,
in broad strokes. Often this comes down to an broad archetypical statement such as "I want to play
some kind of wizard", or perhaps a reaction against a stereotype such as "I want
to play a warrior...but a clever tricksy one".

The big idea, so to speak. This will likely get refined down and polished into your
High Concept or Aspects later, but for now it is enough just to have a sense of
what you are aiming for.

Name

You need a name, and though obviously you can fill this in when it comes to you,
it's handy to have a handle for the character as you go thru the creation process.
You can always choose a different name later if you change your mind.

Starting Refresh

By default, characters are assumed to start with 3 Refresh.
However, the GM may alter this up or down if they want to start play with more or
less experienced characters.

Refresh determines your character's default Fate point threshold; the number of
Fate points you are guaranteed to start every session with. However, it also serves
as the primary "currency" or resource that you use to gain other abilities for your
character, primarily Stunts.

If you want to be flexible and interact with Aspects and thus the narrative more,
you want to keep your Refresh high. If you prefer a less reactive style of play
and prefer reliability and predictability you can trade Refresh for extra Stunts.

Having a high Refresh affords you a comfortable amount of Fate points to lean on
each session, which gives you a measure of plot protection and lowers the impact
of bad dice rolls. But even with a low Refresh you can accrue Fate points during
play by accepting compels on your Trouble or Aspects.

High Concept and Trouble

You need to define a High Concept, which is intended to convey the essence of your
character. High Concepts are usually pithy, and ideally an interesting attention
getter...the equivalent of an elevator pitch or a newspaper headline.

You also need a Trouble, which is the counterpoint to your High Concept. While the
High Concept describes your character's essence, your Trouble describes the main
source of dramatic tension in your character's ongoing story, the thing that holds
them back, or causes them to get involved in circumstances that they'd rather avoid
but which provide interesting interludes to their existence.

A good Trouble will not only make your character more "real", it also will provide
your most reliable means of regaining Fate points during play. Though it seems counterintuitive,
a Trouble that doesn't really complicate your character's existence will make your
character weaker, not stronger. You want to be compelled and involved in the narrative,
and your character's Trouble is a primary enabler of that goal.

Not Yet Sure

Sometimes you may not have a fully crystallized concept when you start the character
creation process, and thus balk at this step. Don't worry, you can change your selections
later if your concept gets refined as you go through the process. However, if you
are drawing a blank, just skip this and come back to it later when you are more
confident that you understand what the character is going to be about.

The Power Of A Good Image

It can be helpful to have a good mental or visual image of how a character looks;
you may be able to draw inspiration for the character's concept from their appearance.
You may want to take a few minutes to sketch your character, or find something usable
that is in the public domain online.

Race

Note: Race is an extra Aspect; it does not take up one of a character's standard
three Aspects.

Pathfinder characters must also choose a Race Aspect, which acts as a sort of supplementary
High Concept. However unlike a High Concept, Race usually cannot be changed (without
some serious magic, at any rate). All the standard Pathfinder Races (Elf, Dwarf,
Gnome, various halfsies, different Human cultures, etc) are available.

A character's Race is a fact about the character that is always true, and can be
interacted with by other abilities that reference the Race.

Like all Aspects, Race has no direct mechanical effect unless invoked; it primarily
provides a justification for a character to do something that a member of that Race
is supposed to be able to do, per the source material. Actions are resolved using
Approaches and Archetypes, and characters have the option to pay a Fate point
to invoke their Race Aspect in the same way as they use any other Aspect.

For instance the player of an Elf could justify spending a Fate point to invoke
their Elf Aspect to get a +2 bonus or a reroll on a notice check due to the stereotypically
keen senses of elvenkind, while a Dwarf could justify spending a Fate point to invoke
their Dwarf Aspect to get a +2 bonus or a reroll when defending against a magical
attack due to the legendary spell resistence of dwarvenkind.

If there is some special ability that a character wants that pertains to their Race,
at their perogative the GM might hand wave it away and allow the character to use
their Race Aspect to justify actions and rely on Create Advantage in particular
to handle this sort of thing, or they might allow an occasional use of a special
ability with the expenditure of a Fate point, or they may require a character to
take a Stunt defining the ability. This is left to GM preference, but by default
Pathfinder Fate assumes that the more permissive method is generally preferred.

For instance many Races have the ability to see in the dark, but it may not always
be relevant to the larger story, and making all members of such Races take a Darkvision
Stunt can be unnecessarily taxing. Thus a GM might allow a character of such a Race
to simply see in the dark due to their Race Aspect, or similarly may just require
them to use the Create Advantage action to put a situational Aspect on themselves.
Alternately the GM might require the expenditure of a Fate point to "turn on" Darkvision
for a scene.

But if they are a stickler, a GM might require characters of a Race that can see
in the dark to take a Darkvision Stunt (and so on for other such abilities). However,
such GM's may want to consider bumping up the number of "free" Stunts or base Refresh
to compensate for this sort of Stunt "tax", otherwise members of Races that have
a lot of common abilities expressed as Stunts will be very similar to each other
and will have a lessened ability to define other abilities unrelated to Race.

Aspects

Aspects are at the heart of Fate, and play an important role in helping you to define
your character.

In Pathfinder Fate Accelerated it is assumed that characters start with
3 Aspects.

Your Aspects can be whatever makes sense for your character, but it can be particularly
useful if they help to fill in the character's background and provide a foundation
for how they came to have their abilities and how they became adventurers.

If you are at a loss for coming up with Aspects, try the following. Have your first
Aspect hinge on your character's formative years, or their Race. Then, focus the
second Aspect on the character's early adulthood and early successes or perhaps
failures and perhaps how they picked up their Archetypes. Finally have the third
Aspect ground what the character has been doing most recently prior to play starting,
and perhaps anchor their career as an adventurer.

Approaches and Archetypes

Pathfinder Fate Accelerated uses the standard Approaches defined by Fate Accelerated; they represent how a character goes about doing something.
Pushing the idea that how characters do things is often as interesting (or more so) than what they are actually doing is at the heart of what makes
Fate Accelerated such a fun and rewarding game to play.

For instance, two different adventurers with similar ability sets attempt to do the same basic thing.
The two characters are basically interchangeable in this context, and the outcome of the resolution is
relatively uninteresting based upon simple skill resolution semantics.
But using Approaches, one of the characters might prefer to approach the
problem Forcefully while the other does so Carefully, allowing very different narratives to emerge.

Pathfinder Fate Accelerated extends Fate Accelerated with the concept of Archetypes intended to capture
a character's competencies in broad areas of capabilities
modeled on various tropes of fantasy roleplaying in general and the D&D or Pathfinder
gaming experience specifically. The separation between divine, arcane, and nature-oriented magics,
the unlikely stealth con artistry and burgling ability of various rogues, the feats of combative arms
displayed by warriors of different stripes, adeptness at more esoteric abilities such as displayed by monks
and psions and similar fringe concepts.

Approaches

Careful: You act with caution,
paying attention to the details. When you are holding back, taking your time, making
extra special sure you get it right, leaving no opening for counterattack, maintaining
situational awareness, buying time, or being guarded in your responses...you are
being careful.

Clever: You think quickly, and act
with great finesse. When you do 'the smart thing', make intuitive leaps, exploit
a nuance or a weakness, outwit or trick, execute choreographed or complex maneuvers,
use an opponent's strengths against them, or otherwise rely on your smarts to solve
something...you are being clever.

Flashy: You act in big showy ways,
giving the appearance of sparkling brilliance and ostentatiously draw attention
to yourself. Being larger than life is a speciality. When you go big, brazenly proclaim,
entertain, seek to impress, bluster your way out of something, show off, or just
do things while piling on with extra awesome style...you are being flashy.

Forceful: You act boldly with no
hesitation and without holding back. Both physically and mentally you fully commit
to what you are doing and exert yourself to your fullest. When you swing for the
fences, throw your shoulder into it, grin and bear it, give it your all, and go
all in...you are being forceful.

Quick: You act swiftly and with great
agility, fast and sure-footed. When you act without stopping to think, dart and
weave, lunge and leap, use quick reflexes to respond in a hurry, squeeze in an extra
little non-action, dash through before its too late...you are being quick.

Sneaky: You act deceptively, secretively,
attempting to avoid notice, in furtive and surreptitious ways. When you try to conceal
or hide what you are doing, obscure your intentions, evade detection, appear to
be other than what you are, set a trap or lay in ambush...you are being sneaky.

Archetypes

Archetypes represent common broad character concepts found in the source material. The six (6)
Archetypes are Combative, Roguish, Focused, Arcane, Divine, and Primal;
detailed descriptions of each are provided. Individual characters can specialize
in a single Archetype or mix Archetypes as they like to define various character
concepts.

In addition to Archetype considerations being covered in detail, Approach considerations
and sample Stunts are also provided.

For instance, a Cavalier might be defined as Combative +4, while a "Fighter/Mage/Thief"
might be defined as Combative +1, Arcane +2, Roguish +1, and a Ranger might be defined
as Combative +2, Primal +2.

Unlike Approaches which cap at Superb (+5), Archetypes do not cap. However, as
characters only get another +1 to a Archetype at major milestones, progression
is generally slow and each opportunity to advance a Archetype should be carefully
considered.

Each Archetype has three thresholds that represent increasing depth of a character's
immersion in a particular area of ability, and also increasing the breadth of what the
character can apply the Archetype to within the context of the story. Thus the difference
between a +1 and a +2 in a given Archetype is more than just a probability bonus; the higher level of ability
also provides expanded narrative justification for actions pertaining to that Archetype.

For each Archetype, +1 represents basic knowledge, fundamental skill, and general
familiarity with the things the Archetype concerns itself with. In addition to
providing a bonus to relevant 4dF resolutions, in conjunction with the character's
Aspects and High Concept the first +1 of a Archetype also helps justify various
things within the narrative. It is left to the GM's discretion, but in some cases
a character that has Arcane +1 can justify attempting to do things in a particular
way that a character without Arcane +1 simply cannot justify, and so on. In other
cases a GM might allow characters lacking at least a +1 in a particular Archetype
to attempt something, but at a cost or versus a higher difficulty...or both.

For each Archetype, +2 represents professional competence. This threshold is sufficient
for all normal purposes for the majority of the people in the world.

For each Archetype, +3 represents exceptional competence. For the magic oriented
Archetypes, +3 is when full unfettered "free casting" is achieved. For the non-magic
oriented Archetypes +3 is when truly extraordinary feats beyond what is possible
for "normal" people to accomplish become possible. Only remarkable people (some
but not necessarily all player characters and significant NPC's) attain or exceed
this threshold for even a single Archetype.

For each Archetype, +4 and higher represents increasingly sublime mastery.
Having a bigger bonus helps to reduce the chance of failure and makes game-bending
exploits statistically probable, but in practical terms such advanced levels of
competence primarily matter when facing off against other similarly progressed characters.

Combative: You have some
skill in the warrior arts pertaining to direct armed conflicts, the waging of war, the winning of battles,
and combat in general. Knowledge of weapons, armor, tactics, as well as the physical training and discipline
necessary to be successful in such endeavors is relevant as well. This Archetype is strongly associated
with conflict, battle, and martial concerns.

At +1 you know how to use and care for weapons more serious than clubs and daggers
without embarassing yourself, how to wear armor heavier than leathers, and basic
knowledge of martial culture. You don't have much finesse or technique, but are
capable of basic strikes and blocks.

At +2 you have genuine skill at arms and are able to put together combos and flourishes.
Depending on your inclinations and background you might be schooled in at least
basic tactics and strategy, and possibly logistics as well; but even if untutored
you can usually spot an ambush, recognize a defensible position, and so forth.

At +3 and above you are a world-class warrior, capable of impressive displays of martial mastery.
You are capable of taking on large numbers of unskilled and less competent foes with reasonable odds of beating them all.
Further, Combative provides narrative justification to defend against not only the mundane attacks
it previously protected against, but also unusual and magical attacks that cause
physical harm. This can take many narrative forms, from blocking, deflecting, using
armor or shield effectively, or even just being extra tough due to being a hardened
warrior.

Roguish: You are a competent,
skilled individual of varied talents. This Archetype is strongly associated with
urban 'civilized' concerns, social rules and expectations, and how to bend or break
them.

At +1 you are good at cagey social interaction, have some innate shrewdness or are
streetwise, and are good at being opportunistic. You are comfortable in urban areas
and know how to handle yourself competently in such settings. You have some practical insider knowledge
of the sector of society you are most familiar with and how things really work therein.

At +2 you are good at skulking around in urban areas, stealing things, getting in
and out of places you shouldn't be in, dirty tricks 'dishonorable' fighting using
pragmatic weapons true warriors tend to disapprove of, being shifty and evasive,
and likely some knowledge of the less than lawful sector of society.

At +3 and above you are incredibly competent, deeply knowledgeable in your area of expertise,
and are capable of succeeding at tasks beyond the reach of the less skilled. Additionally,
Roguish provides narrative justification to defend against any kind of indirect or surprise
attack and to avoid harm by getting out of the way of it. Narratively this can take
many forms, such as rolling out of the way, ducking behind cover, 'seeing it coming'
and somehow interupting the attack, and so forth.

Focused: You are innately
good at concentrating your inner power and physical potential into potent expressions
of your will. This Archetype is strongly associated with athletics, contests of
merit, creative expression, and innate ability.

At +1 you are more nimble, athletic, alert, and have a stronger force of personality
than average. You are unusually aware of your own physical and mental limits and
how far you can push against them to excel. You are better than average at fisticuffs,
staying aware of your surroundings, and dodging.

At +2 you excel at feats of strength and of will, making uncanny leaps of intuition,
impressive grappling and unarmed fighting, raw athletic exploits, perseverance in
the face of adversity, tapping inner reserves, and so forth.

At +3 and above you are capable of impossible leaps, gate-crashing strength,
inescapable grappling holds, astounding memory tricks, cowing entire crowds with
sheer presence, and similar feats. Additionally, Focused provides narrative justification
for extraordinary feats unattainable by merely normal people, though the nature of these abilities
will vary according to the character's concept. Some achieve such heights of mental and / or physical
mastery that they develop amazing monkish, psionic, or even innate "spell-like" abilities (if such things
are appropriate to the campaign). It is also more likely for a character with this level of ability to
avoid, shake off, or otherwise resist effects beyond the tolerence of a normal person to overcome;
for instance withstand a poison that would kill a normal man, spot something too fast or subtle for most to perceive,
resist or break out of mind control or domination, survive a fall from a great height, and so on.

Arcane: You are skilled
in the mystic arts, whether wizardly, sorcerous, bardic, or some other style. This
Archetype is strongly associated with esoteric knowledge, otherworldly things,
and manipulation of "magical principles".

At +1 you have relevant esoteric knowledge and awareness of magic, and you can use
some magic items such as wands and scrolls that other characters can't use.

At +2 you can work simple spells such as levitating small objects, making magical
light, shooting minor arcane blasts, and gain various momentary benefits from minor
magical effects.

At +3 and above you can cast proper spells with more powerful effects, as appropriate
to your character's concept.

Divine: You are attuned
to deific entities, theology, and things of cosmological significance. This Archetype
is strongly associated with spiritual concerns, temples, the afterlife, and faith.

At +1 you have some basic theological knoweldge and a connection to a deity, or
a pantheon of deities, or possibly a philosophy or ideal such as "Law". You might
have other associated abilities (such as Stunts) granted to you by a patron deity
or as a byproduct of your observance of the tenets of your belief system.

At +2 you can attempt to ask for or channel minor divine intersession and aid, such
as a blessing of favor, or healing a minor wound.

At +3 and above you can invoke much more powerful effects, equivalent in power to
that possible with Arcane and Primal at higher levels...perhaps even 'miracles'.

Primal: You are skilled
in the ways of the wildlands. This Archetype is strongly associated with rural
and unsettled areas, the circle of life, animistic beliefs, and the fundamental
(dare it be said, "primal") forces and principles of material existence.

At +1 you are comfortable in and have knowledge of the lore of the flora and fauna
native to your chosen terrain or environment. You can hunt and survive and move
stealthily in the wildlands.

At +2 you are attuned to the natural order, and have some craft that blurs the line
between mundane and mystical, such as calming animals, passing without trace through
undergrowth, divining water, and so forth.

At +3 and above you can work very powerful magics related to flora and fauna, the
natural order, the weather, and the elements including the Inner "Elemental Planes"
and other planes of existence with a strong connection to nature if such exist in
the cosmology of the campaign.

Assigning Starting Bonuses

Character creation is slightly modified from standard Fate Accelerated rules.

Characters start with one Fair (+2), two Average (+1), and three Mediocre (+0) Approaches.

However, you also get four +1's to distribute any
way you like among the six Archetypes of Combative, Roguish,
Primal, Focused, Arcane, and Divine. You can assign your four +1's however you like;
you could take +1 on four different Archetypes or +4 on the same Archetype or any other combination
adding up to +4.

Limiting Starting Archetypes

Some GM's may prefer to limit starting characters Archetypes at Good (+3) or
even Fair (+2). That's fine, but note that this will prevent many character concepts
from being fully realized as starting characters.

It might be helpful to realize that in terms of competency, starting Pathfinder
Fate Accelerated characters are roughly equivalent to 5th or 6th level Pathfinder
characters. GM's that would prefer to start their campaign off at a higher or lower
competency level should consult the
starting power level options
guidelines for more information on how to go about doing that.

Taking Actions With
Approaches And Archetypes

When taking actions, you get to add one (1) Approach and up to one (1) Archetype
if one applies to the situation; thus a character with Forceful +2 and Combative
+2 would gain +4 when being Forcefully Combative.

Archetypes can be applied to all four actions (Create Advantage, Overcome, Attack,
Defend).

Defending
With Archetypes

Archetypes can always defend against themselves directly without need of extra
narrative support.

For instance you can always defend against an opponent's Arcane with your Arcane.

Defending against a Archetype with a different Archetype is possible, but it requires
some narrative support (i.e. you have to creatively explain how you are using the
Archetype in the situation), and if it doesn't seem plausible it doesn't work,
or works at a penalty. However, some Archetypes explicitly provide narrative support
for defending against various things when a character passes a threshold of ability.

For instance Roguish +3 and higher explicitly allows a character to justify defending
against any kind of indirect or surprise attack and to avoid harm by getting out
of the way of it.

Milestones and Advancement

Approaches cannot be raised above Superb (+5), as is normal for Fate Accelerated.
Archetypes on the other hand are not capped and can be raised as high as a character
is able to progress.

At minor milestones, Pathfinder Fate Accelerated
doesn't change anything; just use the rules as written in the Fate Accelerated rulebook.

At significant milestones, again nothing is changed.
You may raise an Approach by +1, as normal. You may not raise a Archetype by +1.

At major milestones in addition to the various things
you are already allowed to do, in Pathfinder Fate Accelerated you may also raise
either an Approach or
a Archetype by +1, your choice.

Unlike Approaches you generally cannot switch your Archetypes around after play
starts. A GM might allow you to take a +1 off of a Archetype and put it on a different
Archetype during a milestone if you can make a strong enough case for it, but this
should be an uncommon occurrence...perhaps in conjunction with a change of High
Concept.

Stunts

A number of additional Stunt templates and options are provided in the
Stunt Options
document.

Stunts allow you to differentiate your character. They represent the "signature"
abilities or items or whatever that makes your
character really stand out.

Aspects cost Fate points to invoke for mechanical benefits, Stunts usually don't
(though some very powerful Stunts might). Thus in addition to offering you a way
to individualize your character, Stunts also allow you to "pin down" the things
that your character is reliably good at.

Is your character supposed to be a "swashbuckling sword-master"? You would almost
certainly have an Aspect to anchor that (it might even be your High Concept), but
to really ensure that your character is always
awesome at it when it mechanically matters (i.e. a dice roll is involved) without
having to spend a Fate point for a bonus, you should define one or more related
Stunts.

You get up to 3 Stunts for free. You can also take
more Stunts by lowering your Refresh by one (1) for each additional Stunt.

However, player characters cannot drop below Refresh: 1.
Thus, when starting, you can take up to two (2) additional Stunts. You gain +1 Refresh
at major milestones, and can use this to take more Stunts if you like.

You don't have to pick your free Stunts if you don't want to or aren't sure. You
can start play and pick later, even during the course of the game if the GM allows
it.

You can also swap a Stunt at milestones, so if you take a Stunt that seems like
it would be cool but it doesn't play out so well, you can change your mind later.

Consequences

Magic

By default, it is assumed that the
Simple Magic
guidelines are being used.

Money and Equipment

Though simulating some of the tropes of D&D style gaming Pathfinder Fate Accelerated
isn't a loot-based game. PC's don't generally wander around "killing things and
taking their stuff". The focus is on allowing players to cooperatively tell a dynamic
story full of excitement with a focus on the "fiction"...which is to say cinematic
or prose-worthy narratives.

Unlike a more loot oriented game where over the course of adventuring characters
accumulate power-ups in item form and eventually become walking magical weapon platforms
defined more by their swag than anything else, in Pathfinder Fate Accelerated trappings
are only useful to the extent that they help describe and enrich a character concept
and further the story.

Thus, these guidelines take a very loose, abstracted stance on character trappings
and wealth rather than bog things down with crunch.

Money

Pathfinder Fate Accelerated doesn't concern itself about the economy in the game
setting a GM is using, or defining "starting funds", or even tracking money by default.

From a character definition perspective, wealth or a significant lack of it should
be reflected in a character's High Concept and / or Aspects, and that is sufficient.

Unless the GM objects, gear can just be written out narratively as trappings without
worrying about associated monetary considerations.

If you are a player, ask your GM how they plan to handle money in their campaign.
Then seed your character with trappings appropriate to their concept, taking your
GM's guidance on what they'll allow into account.

If you are a GM, the
Money Options
document goes into detail on various options and recommendations on how to handle
economic considerations in Pathfinder Fate Accelerated.

Equipment

Pathfinder Fate Accelerated handles mundane equipment narratively, as just a written
out list of stuff.

For instance, the salty second mate turned treasure hunter
Lirrial
starts with the following trappings:

She had a pile of money just two days ago, won at the tables...sadly she bet and
lost most of it an hour later, and has drunk the remainder since. She currently
has 3 sp, 16 cp and (inexplicably) two dried lima beans, a button to somebody else's
coat, and some lint in her pocket.

She also has a seabag containing a couple of spare pairs of fine sailing outfits,
a journal with a spotty and unreliable account of her deeds, and a broken music
box that only has three and a half working teeth and thus plays a rather jagged
tune. Even on land she wears a jaunty tri-corner hat suitable to a second-mate-for-hire,
and always, always carries a deceptively deadly rapier with a fancy basket hilt,
and keeps a stiletto well tucked away.

This is a rather flowery write up, but it tells us a lot about the character and
suggests even more. The shifty Sczarni swordsman
Eleo
on the other hand has these trappings, which is much more direct but also in its
way tells us some things about Eleo's nature:

Eleo currently has a mere 4 gp, 12 sp, and 45 cp to his name. Considering the illicit
wealth he came from this would depress most people. But for Eleo it is just another
kind of freedom from his past.

Relevance of Specific Weapons and Armor

While different weapons and armor certainly inform the narrative and help provide
justifications as to what makes sense for a given character to be able to do in
a scene or exchange, mechanically "weapons" and "armor" have no real significance
as attack and defend actions are resolved using Approaches and Archetypes rather
than gear.

The character's competency is the primary factor; the tool they are using to exercise
that competency is secondary and only matters to the extent that it makes the story
more interesting.

For instance, the detail that a particular character wields a spear might provide
different justifcations for create advantage and overcome actions than if the character
carried an axe instead. But when the character uses Combatives to attack
another character, unless there is some other consideration involved it doesn't
matter mechanically whether they are using an axe or a sword or a spear or a whatever.
The attack is resolved with a 4dF roll adding an Approach and Combatives to the
result.

To the extent that a particular kind of weapon or armor (etc) matters to a character
or to the emerging story, it should be incorporated into Aspects and Stunts.

For instance, the fact that
Bordos
wears heavy armor and wields a hammer is reflected in his Aspects and Stunts. It
is important to the character's concept and thus in the scenes that he is in he
makes it matter to the narrative. On the other hand if Joe Fighterdude usually wears
some heavy armor and uses a warhammer but didn't incorporate any of that into his
concept in the form of Aspects or Stunts then ultimately it doesn't actually matter
as anything more than fluff.

Magic Items

A variety of alchemical and magical items are available via the
Items
document.

Of course, in a Fantasy setting Magic is always the special case. By their very
nature magic items can't be hand waved away as easily.

Pathfinder Fate Accelerated makes a distinction between permanent magic items (or
items with so many "charges" that they are very long lasting) and expendable magic
items with one or a few uses.

Expendable Items

In general, Pathfinder Fate Accelerated handles expendable items like Scrolls and
Potions using a modified Mook template that are either explicitly single use or
have a small stress track to track usages. They don't require a Stunt or anything
mechanical, they are just a thing a character carries until they use it up or give
the item away or it is taken from them. They are merely a commodity.

Overcome while Cleverly Arcane to immediately teleport myself a short distance by overcoming a difficulty equal to the number of zones away the target is, +1. Thus to dimension door up to three (3) zones away would require me to overcome a Great (+4) difficulty, while five (5) zones would require me to overcome a Fantastic (+6) difficulty. When using this ability, I can not move a zone in the normal way, and if I fail the spell I go nowhere at all.

While Carefully Divine attempt to clear a specific stress box or Consequence by overcoming a difficulty equal to the numerical value of the stress box or Consequence.

Permanent Items

Permanent items are generally represented as a Stunt, but more complicated or potent
items are represented by a Stunt that takes one or more Stunt slots and attaches
a secondary character (aka "Mook") write up to the character, as described in the
Stunt Options
document. Items that are a strong part of a character's core concept should also
be anchored by an Aspect.

For instance
Orlo
starts play with a magical sword, but the sword is an heirloom passed down to Orlo
via a long lineage and is a core element of Orlo's origin thus far; this importance
is represented by both a Stunt and an Aspect.

Unlike more loot based games, the GM doesn't "reward" players by handing out treasure
and items, as anything other than story elements, or to decorate a scene or character
while it narratively makes sense. And unless a PC internalizes a "found item" into
their concept by incorporating it into a personal Aspect or Stunt, the item is just
not that important to the emerging story and will drop out of the narrative when
it makes sense for it to do so.

Similarly, if there is something presented in the story such as a "magic item" carried
by a defeated enemy for instance, a PC might temporarily carry it around as represented
by a situational Aspect, but permanently acquiring the "magic item" would likely
be at the expense of an Aspect and / or Stunt. If the new shiny is not important
to the character's concept then it really just doesn't have any relevance to the
character's ongoing story and is merely a passing detail.

Modified Fate Ladder

The adjoining modified Fate Ladder adds a few more named rungs above Legendary (+8).
You can, of course, still go higher as need be, but the extra named rungs should be sufficient
for low, mid, and most high-powered play.

Pathfinder is a High Fantasy setting with big rats, oozes, and rabid goblins at
the low end and demon lords, deities, and otherworldly powers at the high end.

In standard Fate Accelerated, Approaches cap at Superb (+5), and that is true in
Pathfinder Fate Accelerated as well. But Archetypes do not
cap, and are added to resolutions as applicable.

The Ladder

+12

Otherworldly

+11

Mythic

+10

Wondrous

+9

Astonishing

+8

Legendary

+7

Epic

+6

Fantastic

+5

Superb

+4

Great

+3

Good

+2

Fair

+1

Average

+0

Mediocre

-1

Poor

-2

Terrible

A Pathfinder Fate Accelerated character with around six major milestones under their
belt should be roughly equivalent to a "20th level character" in the source material.
Such experienced characters can potentially generate bonuses of +15 or even higher
in their main areas of expertise.

This is expected, and intended. For most play groups and campaigns it will all work
out. Very few campaigns would progress beyond a few major milestones in the first place,
rendering power scaling at higher echelons of ability a moot point.

For campaigns that do make it to the higher end of play, or which start at a higher
power level to begin with, the 4dF dice roll has a nearly insignificant effect on resolutions
unless the characters are facing similarly powerful opposition.

Fortunately, being a narrative game, Fate Accelerated tolerates this just fine.
Simply handle inconsequential resolutons narratively and save the dice rolling for
situations where the variance of +/- 4 from a 4dF roll might have a meaningful effect
on the outcome.

In context, this means that most resolutions between very powerful endgame characters and
lesser opponents should just be narratively asserted in most cases. Not only is this perfectly
reasonable (Archmages and world-class warriors are at most inconvenienced by stock opposition),
it helps keep the game focused on interesting challenges by not wasting time diceing out
resolutions with a basically foregone conclusion. A quick narration between the player(s) and GM
about what happened, roughly how long it took, and what it cost the hero (if anything) is
generally sufficient.

Example: the Aspiring Archwizard, Amarzedrin can generate up to a +14
bonus on his prepared spells, allowing him to cast truly epic magic. When faced with a mob of unruly
but otherwise unexceptional ork mooks with a bonus of +2 on their best Good At, it is entirely reasonable
for Amarzedrin's player and the GM to just agree that it takes mere moments for Amarzedrin to burn the
lot of them to cinders at the cost of a prepared Fireburst spell and not bother with dice or direct conflict.

Afterall, the goal of the story
probably isn't to explore all the many ways Amarzedrin can make the lives of minions such as these
miserable and abruptly shorter; presumably there is a challenge more worthy of his epicness lurking
deeper in the story.

GM Resources

The
GM Resources
document provides many options for Game Masters, including various initiative options,
guidance on how to simulate more of a "1st level character" experience, milestone
advancement options, and so on.

Also, many NPC's, content from our Adventures (including conversions of parts of
the Rise of the Runelord and Shattered Star adventure paths), magic items, and so
forth are offered up for a GM's use and enjoyment.